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Thoughts on people who claim not to be religious but still believe in Jesus/god/sin/heaven etc?

Met a few people who say this and I know there are different schools of thought on this topic. Thoughts? Can you believe and not be 'religious'?

loloworonuk 3 Apr 16
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59 comments

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7

To be honest I think that's most Christians. They all engage in cafeteria Christianity where they pick and choose what they want to do and what they want to believe.

Cafeteria Christianity - nice turn of phrase

Would you agree that its all cafeteria? Humans are built to adapt to changing circumstance. Religion and faith is no different.

@Quarm adoptable in the sense that's selfish . You know your God is man-made when it hates the same people you do. The part of the Bible that talks negative about gays also talks negative about fermented food.I don't see Christians being outraged over grocery stores and restaurants serving sauerkraut and other fermented foods.

@Kojaksmom Would you agree we are all selfish. It comes I think with the very nature of humanity. The rub as it were is balancing selfishness with our wish for community. I no longer identify as Christian as I do not agree with any rational real or imagined to hate and oppress others.

@Quarm yes I would agree that each and every one of us is selfish. The key is to find the balance.

6

Those people annoy my nut hair. It's worse when they say Atheism is a religion. Oh, Jesus.

Amen to that !!

I can feel my eyeballs attempting to explode everytime I here that.

5

Yes, if being "religious" means belonging to an organized religion or church. There are a lot of free-floating theists out there. Such people often describe themselves as spiritual, but not religious.

5

It's the "Not a religion, it's a relationship" bs.

5

Many people shun organized religion, or don't identify with a specific faith, and have beliefs in higher powers or what have you.

I agree

4

I know a few people who fit into this category. They never go to church and don't believe in most of the magical things that religion teaches, but they say they believe in a creator. They are more like Deists, like many of the founder fathers of the USA.

4

I believe that those are people who are holding on to the last remaining thread of something their parents led them to believe before they were old enough to critically analyze it. Kind of like still celebrating Xmas even after you find out there's no such thing as Santa Claus. You don't want to give up all of something that at one point in your life brought you something positive.

3

I think there are a lot of people who were raised to have faith but who don't practice by belonging to a church or going to services every Sunday. Life is busy and sleeping in on Sunday is good but that belief system is still ingrained in them.

Nope that's not active assertions claiming to be an Atheist but keeping milquetoast faith traditions....only 44% of USA attend religious events more than 4 times per year NOT COUNTING WEDDINGS OR FUNERALS

3

I do chuckle at those people who say "I'm not religious, I just have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ."

3

Why not. Some folks don’t care for the organized kind of thing whose hands reach into their pockets while spouting hypocrisy. I can see people believing without being religulous. However, at that point, why bother? Know thy self.

3

As they are both man made constructs I stopped giving this much thought a long time ago.

3

Said another way, can you be religious, and not believe? Perhaps the person just can't find a discipline that agrees with their idea. ....but doesn't want to piss god off by saying they don't believe.

I think another thought on that would be can you believe without needing others to believe with you? Can you separate a belief from a fact and still use both for a better life?

@Quarm have to give both some thought.....first question....I think "yes",....requires self confidence, or self delusion, but yes.....the second part......I just don't understand the question...example???

@HankSherman I think the best example would be an interview I saw once with a catholic priest about the separation within the church of science and faith. Another example would be the believer who lives a good life from a measurable point of view but still finds comfort and meaning in their faith in the unknowable. I think many people of faith stay far away from church and organized religion and simply use their belief as a tool to drive action.

@Quarm this..I think ...is another of those times, when my third grade eddumacashun is going to be a hinderance to the conversation....so I'll bow out to those of more learned skills.

3

I think they're just as whacked out as the religious ones.

3

Many people do not go to church or temple or mosque and still believe. that does not make them religious, it means they have a belief system.

2

I believe that I am no longer religious. I take nothing in the bible book as real.

2

Dumb funny harmless in their circles but won't lift a finger to jail a local rapist priest or stop the tampon terrorists @ the nearest abortion clinic

2

There's a great essay called, "Kurt Vonnegut, Christ-Loving Atheist," that I was going to link, but it's behind a paywall now so I didn't bother.

2

I don't believe in God but I still fantasize that I will see my grandma again.If there were a heaven she would be there.

2

I don’t think you can be not religious and still believe in jebus. I don’t think he ever existed and there isn’t any god, PERIOD!
There isn’t any proof of a god, none!
The more I studied religion the more I came to see that it is all myths and folk tales that never occurred.
I found that the Bible borrowed from Persian, Egyptian, and Babylonian myths.
The bible was written, re written, translated, added to, subtracted from. Some books were lost and later found.
None of the bible was written before 1500BCE. It has over 40 different authors and some events have two or more versions.
The bible is a poorly written book that most Christians haven’t even read.

You are right. And it's not only about religions. If you believe in good or bad luck you are not a rational person. If you get on a plane and think think thatvyours might crash because there were no crashes for a year so there is one due you are not rational. If you land safely, get a cab and think that now you sre safe...

2

Define “religious”? I disagree with this site’s definition, which is that it’s a belief there is a god or gods who must be worshipped. I’m a non-theist lifelong Unitarian Universalist. I consider myself religious because of my commitment to and participation in the faith tradition.

UUNJ Level 8 Jan 7, 2019

@Nightshade1313 It’s another way of referencing “religion.”

2

I could be convinced that a god or gods exist, but I will never see organized or unorganized religions as anything other than a criminal enterprise.

2

Its just fucking stupid

2

here is what I think,

Religious: Practicing Worshipper, Regular Church Goer
Non-Religious Christian: Believer, but Doesn't regularly attend church and doesn't trust the New Testament as Cannonized, views Jesus as more of a individualized personal savior without a lot of details other than to be a good person and ask for forgiveness when one has done wrong (sinned).

Personal savior from what?

2

i don't know if this counts or not, but my mom believes in a higher power(she says she calls it god because its a common way of reffering to a higher power) but she doesnt identify with any particular religion. she just thinks theres something bigger than us out there looking out for us. i don't have any problem with it. everyone sees things their own way.

Byrd Level 7 Apr 16, 2018
2

I don't think you have too be Religious too believe in anything.

Coldo Level 8 Apr 16, 2018
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